Dotted across this vast state of ours, in its rural, regional, remote and
nether regions, is a conglomeration of expensive, politically motivated
failures with 26 of them now being subject to a government investigation.
In Brendon Grylls former Pilbara electorate there is a plethora of monstrous, grandiose ‘Real Estate’ stuff-ups, including empty luxury apartments and glamorous, but uninhabited, private estates.
Then there are unused facilities such as a new, deluxe aquatic centre that has virtually been closed since the day it was opened.
Some of these particular faux pas are still subject to investigation by the appropriate authorities including ‘Operation Sara’ by the WACCC on one R4R funded project.
It is mirrored, in miniature, in Mia Davies’ Merredin, her Central Wheatbelt Electorate eerie, where flashy government promotional signage casts an earie shadow over an empty domestic property development amid newish community facilities such as a sports complex.
Even Royalty for Regions local community assets that are now being used by their communities will be funded for centuries by ratepayers as their Shire Council’s cannot afford the day-to-day running costs.
The Royalties for Regions scheme, commenced in 2008, was to improve rural, regional and remote community infrastructure to make these areas more attractive to new residents. Its main intention? To reverse the trend of population movement to the major city centres, ensure future local community sustainability and guarantee socio-economic development
There was a raft of genuinely great ideas that quickly sank in the mire of political opportunism.
The former Nationals Leader, Max Trenorden, had the right concept of improving delivery of public utilities, public transport, the quality and cost of goods and services, regional innovation programs providing higher education enclaves and regional light industry, agriculture and transport hubs, based on USA modelling.
Building new facilities such as hospitals, medical centres and schools in particular were still supposed to be funded from normal government departmental resources, not R4R.
Instead everything was waylaid by The Lone Ranger Grylls and his sidekick Tonto Davies who were happy to use the funds for their own glorification, not for job creation that would actually allow for population growth.
Now eleven years and $7 billion onwards it is acknowledged that R4R has failed to create a positive population shift with people still leaving rural and regional communities, sometimes in droves.
That is why the independent, Western Australian, Economic Regulation Authority has demanded much stronger cost-benefit analysis on R4R spending on the basis that you have to have jobs available- not just a new sports centre.
The R4R philosophy was to fund a ‘Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory’ with not enough initial capital, not enough employees to staff the factory, not enough customers to buy the chocolate and not enough finances to pay-off the debt.
Mia of Merredin is now claiming that a change in spending direction for R4R by the State Government is an ‘unprecedented attack on the bush’.
What she actually means is this particular town, Merredin, where the R4R scheme has supported projects such as a medical centre, sporting centre, high school, retirement village and an improved water system, may not be supported anymore.
The ‘unprecedented attack’ seems to hinge on the new government spending only $4 billion R4R funding in its first 4 years in office when the Nationals spent $7 billion in over 8 years.
Does this mean there will be $8 billion spent in 8 years by this government, being $1 billion more than the Nationals did- in the same places but in a different direction? Obviously not in Ms. Davies’ calculations!
The big problem that Mia Davies has in defending the previous expenditure on R4R is that even the former Premier, Colin Barnett, sarcastically suggested that much of this money was spent on ‘low hanging fruit’.
This so called ‘low hanging fruit’ such as hospitals, medical centres, schools and a better water supply should have been funded through state government resources by the departments’ responsible, not from Royalties for Regions funding.
R4R should have been used for unfunded and well researched resource projects designed to build sustainable rural and regional local government area communities to entice population growth and business and industry growth. That is what it was originally and mainly designed for.
A sports complex?- fine- as long as its permanent on-costs can be easily met. A new retirement village?- Yes, as a public/private consortium commercial investment, where the running costs are borne by the private operator.
Colin Barnett and his Treasurer, Mike Nahan, must have been laughing all the way to the State Treasury when Royalties for Regions funds started to be used where government departments should have been footing the bill.
If a town needs a new high school, medical centre, or hospital that is a financial matter for the State not Royalties for Regions.
This should have been used to ensure that regions grew, not leave behind a brand new, empty community centre.
Will the new government actually do a better job?
The Nationals are not a hard act to follow, but it will be a case of wait and see!
David Taylor.
In Brendon Grylls former Pilbara electorate there is a plethora of monstrous, grandiose ‘Real Estate’ stuff-ups, including empty luxury apartments and glamorous, but uninhabited, private estates.
Then there are unused facilities such as a new, deluxe aquatic centre that has virtually been closed since the day it was opened.
Some of these particular faux pas are still subject to investigation by the appropriate authorities including ‘Operation Sara’ by the WACCC on one R4R funded project.
It is mirrored, in miniature, in Mia Davies’ Merredin, her Central Wheatbelt Electorate eerie, where flashy government promotional signage casts an earie shadow over an empty domestic property development amid newish community facilities such as a sports complex.
Even Royalty for Regions local community assets that are now being used by their communities will be funded for centuries by ratepayers as their Shire Council’s cannot afford the day-to-day running costs.
The Royalties for Regions scheme, commenced in 2008, was to improve rural, regional and remote community infrastructure to make these areas more attractive to new residents. Its main intention? To reverse the trend of population movement to the major city centres, ensure future local community sustainability and guarantee socio-economic development
There was a raft of genuinely great ideas that quickly sank in the mire of political opportunism.
The former Nationals Leader, Max Trenorden, had the right concept of improving delivery of public utilities, public transport, the quality and cost of goods and services, regional innovation programs providing higher education enclaves and regional light industry, agriculture and transport hubs, based on USA modelling.
Building new facilities such as hospitals, medical centres and schools in particular were still supposed to be funded from normal government departmental resources, not R4R.
Instead everything was waylaid by The Lone Ranger Grylls and his sidekick Tonto Davies who were happy to use the funds for their own glorification, not for job creation that would actually allow for population growth.
Now eleven years and $7 billion onwards it is acknowledged that R4R has failed to create a positive population shift with people still leaving rural and regional communities, sometimes in droves.
That is why the independent, Western Australian, Economic Regulation Authority has demanded much stronger cost-benefit analysis on R4R spending on the basis that you have to have jobs available- not just a new sports centre.
The R4R philosophy was to fund a ‘Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory’ with not enough initial capital, not enough employees to staff the factory, not enough customers to buy the chocolate and not enough finances to pay-off the debt.
Mia of Merredin is now claiming that a change in spending direction for R4R by the State Government is an ‘unprecedented attack on the bush’.
What she actually means is this particular town, Merredin, where the R4R scheme has supported projects such as a medical centre, sporting centre, high school, retirement village and an improved water system, may not be supported anymore.
The ‘unprecedented attack’ seems to hinge on the new government spending only $4 billion R4R funding in its first 4 years in office when the Nationals spent $7 billion in over 8 years.
Does this mean there will be $8 billion spent in 8 years by this government, being $1 billion more than the Nationals did- in the same places but in a different direction? Obviously not in Ms. Davies’ calculations!
The big problem that Mia Davies has in defending the previous expenditure on R4R is that even the former Premier, Colin Barnett, sarcastically suggested that much of this money was spent on ‘low hanging fruit’.
This so called ‘low hanging fruit’ such as hospitals, medical centres, schools and a better water supply should have been funded through state government resources by the departments’ responsible, not from Royalties for Regions funding.
R4R should have been used for unfunded and well researched resource projects designed to build sustainable rural and regional local government area communities to entice population growth and business and industry growth. That is what it was originally and mainly designed for.
A sports complex?- fine- as long as its permanent on-costs can be easily met. A new retirement village?- Yes, as a public/private consortium commercial investment, where the running costs are borne by the private operator.
Colin Barnett and his Treasurer, Mike Nahan, must have been laughing all the way to the State Treasury when Royalties for Regions funds started to be used where government departments should have been footing the bill.
If a town needs a new high school, medical centre, or hospital that is a financial matter for the State not Royalties for Regions.
This should have been used to ensure that regions grew, not leave behind a brand new, empty community centre.
Will the new government actually do a better job?
The Nationals are not a hard act to follow, but it will be a case of wait and see!
David Taylor.
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